Manchester TV sports pirate sunk by PIPCU cyber cops

Police have arrested a Manchester man suspected of running a number of illegal sports streaming websites.

The organisation discovered evidence of an industrial size streaming operation, using 12 servers streaming a range of sporting events from around the world, many of which were subscription-based.

The hardware was seized by PIPCU – the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit – with the support of Greater Manchester Police and a 27-year old man, believed to have cost the UK TV industry alone £10 million, arrested.

a Manchester man was arrested for illegally distributing sports streams

PIPCU was formed in September 2013 and since then has shut down two major pirate operations. The first was the Sports Torrent Network, used by 20,000 people around the world to watch live football matches, Formula 1 races, NBA basketball and NHL ice hockey games.

DCI Danny Medlycott, the newly appointed Head of PIPCU, said “[This] is the unit’s third arrest in relation to online streaming and sends out a strong message that we are homing in on those who knowingly commit or facilitate online copyright infringement.

“Not only is there a significant loss to industry with this particular operation but it is also unfair that millions of people work hard to be able to afford to pay for their subscription-only TV services when others cheat the system.”

The names of the streaming sites linked to this arrest have not been revealed.